Sliding cover for dumping bodies



Nov. 5,4 1929. c. G. CLEMENT 1,734,327

y SLIDING COVER FOR DUMPING BODIES FledAug. 28, 1926 112 lolz 26 .i2

' M6@ L7-0 2". Zwam @(2%@56' men scale, and taken as indicated at line Figure 2.

Patented Nov. 5, 1929 l CHARLES G. CLEMENT, OF EDGERTO, WISCONSIN,

COMPANY, OIE` EDGERTON,

ASSIGNOR TO HIGHWAY TRAILER WISCONSIN, A conPoRArioN oF WIsooNs'IN 'KSLIDING COVER FOR DUMPINGBODIES Application filed August 28, 1926.

This invention relates to vehicle bodies of the hopper type in which the body is mounted for tilting', as by a rolling movement upon a main frame of the vehicle for the purpose of dumping its contents. One object of the invention is to provide covering means for such a body, adapted to be opened at will and mounted independently of the body itself so as not to alter the center of gravity of said body, or interfere with the dumping action. Another object is to provide such a cover in a form which may beraised or lowered without extending laterally beyond the normal width of the body itself. The invention consists in certain features and elements of construction in combination as herein described and yshown in the drawings, as indicated by the claims.

" 11n the drawings f Figure 1 is an end elevation of the body and a portion of the vehicle'frame, the latter being shown partly in section. i p

Figure 2is a detail sideeleva'tion of one of the covers and operating mechanism therefor.

Figure 3 is a fragmental detail showing a corner of the body in end elevation with the' cover in raised position. Figure l is a detail section onan enlarged 1-`11 on Figure 5 is a detail section taken as indicated at line 5 5, on Figure 2. n

` Forthe purposesof illustration this invention may be understood as shown in `connection withy atiailer vehicle having' supportingwheels, 1, axles, 2, and a drop frame, including the lower longitudinal channels, 3, and upper ychannels Il, the'latter forming the frame members adjacentA the ends of the hopper body, 5. The lower channels, 3, support cross rails, 6, and the hopper, 5, is provided with curved rockers, T, adapted to rollon the rails', 6, for tilting the hopper to discharge its contents at either side of the vehicle. This type of construction is more fully illustrated in my co-pending application, Serial No. 46,730,1iled July 29th, 1925. n

- At each end of thevehicle frame there is mounted on the members, 4, an upstanding A-frame, 8, and these A-frames are tied tothe cover.

Serial No. 132,054.

getlier by a longitudinal frame member such as the pipe or tube, 9, which carries laterally extending bracket arms, 9, serving to support hinge connections for the covers, which are the subject of this invention. One or more of these covers may be provided at each side of the body, depending on the length of the hopper, 5, but for a hopper of average size I prefer to supply two covers at each side. IEach cover consists of an upper section, 10, and a lower section, 11, the latter being slidably associated with the former. The upper section, 10, consists of a sheet metal plate having its end portions attachedto arms, 12, 12, and said arms aie loosely mounted on a shaft, 18, journalled in the ends of the bracket arms, 9, which extend laterally from the central frame tube, 9, as seen in Figures 2 and 5. One end of the shaft, 13, projects beyond the vertical plane of the A-frame, 8, and carries a sprocket wheel, 14, connected by a chain, 15, with a second sprocket, 16, on the shaft, 17, of a worin wheel, 18, mounted at a lower point on the A-frame in operative relation to a worm whose shaft, 19, is provided with a hand crank, 20. By means of the crank, 20, the shaft, 13, may bc'rotated at will for swinging' up or down the arms, 21, which are rigidly secured to the shaft adjacent to the arms, 12. Said arms, 21, are connected by links, 22, to points on the cover section, 11, near its lower edge','and said section, 11, is slidably engaged in the arms, v12, so that the first effect of the rotation of the shaft, 13, in a direction to swing the arms, 21, upward is to draw the section, 11, upwardly over the section, 10, of As shown in Figure 4, the arms, 12, are in the form of channels opening toward the ends of the cover plates, 10 and 11, and the plate, 11, is reinforced at its ends by angle members, 23, which occupy the available yspace in the channels, 12, with sufficient clearance to allow of easy sliding movement of the cover section, 11, therein. The plate, 11, is further reinforced by angles,-24 and 25, at its upper and lower edges, respectively, and the links, 22, are secured to the plate, 11, by any convenient form of lug, 26, in which their pivots, 27, may be mounted. The lower edge of the cover plate, 10, maybe reinforced by a downwardly directed angle, 28, so that its upper surface is unobstructed in order to permit the lower plate, 11, to slide smoothly over it.

lVhen the upward movement of the arms, 2l, has carried the plate, 11, to the upper ends of the channels, 12, or to any stop therein which may arrest further movement, the continued rotation of the shaft, 13, will act to swing the arms, 12, about the axis of the shaft, carrying vwiththem both cover plates, 10 and ll, and thus opening the upper half of the cover to any extent desired. This action is illustrated in Figure 3.

rIhis arrangement insures that before any of the covers is swung upwardly from its inclined position in which it closes the hopper, 5, the effective lengthof the cover is diminishedby vthe sliding or telescopic movement of the lower section, ll, with respect to the section, lO, so that when the cover is finally rotated itdoes not project laterally beyond the side of the hopper body, 5. rhis elimi-V nates the danger of striking the upraised cover against buildings or telephone poles as the 'vehicle movesalong a street or alley, as for example when used for the collecti n of ashes or garbage. It also keeps the center of gravity of -the covers themselves fairly low, even in their upraised position, so thatthe stability of the vehicle is not affected. And, of course, the independent support of -the covers upon theAframes, 8, and their connecting member,-9, permitsvthe hopper'body, 5, to Vbe rolled-over on its Vside in exactly the same manner in which it would be tilted if there 'were no covers; it being understood, also, that the covers at one side are raised at least to the point indicated in yFigure 3, to allow for/this ro-lling movement of the body. For operating the covers I prefer to employ a worm wheel, as at 18, because the worm gearing serves'to lock the mechanism in any position in which it isleft, without the provision of other locking devices.

For completing the enclosure of the mat-erial in the hopper'body, 5, the end walls of thebody are constructed with upright portions, BO, extending higher than the lateral marginsso as to meet the inclined planes of the covers. In the space between the upper edges of the cover sections, l0, I provide a fixed cover plate, 31, which may be supported from the under sides of the bracket arms, 9a, just below the frame tube, 9, as seen in Figure 5. The end walls, 30, cannot extend quite up to the plate, 3l, without interferingwith the tilting movement of the hopper, 5, but the gap maybe covered by a depending skirt portiornBQ, at each end of the vehicle, which laps over the wall, 30, in aplane parallel to that in which it vmoves when the body istilted.

-Iclaim 1. In combination with a hopper body,'a

' cover comprising a section hingedly mounted adjacent the middle tending part-way toward the side thereof, with a. supplemental section slidable on the first and dimensioned to extend therefrom to the side of the body, together with operating means for raising the cover, adapted for sliding said supplemental section toward the hinged mounting of the other section in the initial portion of the opening movement.

2. In combination with a'hopper body, a rock shaft extendingover thebOdyadjaCent the middle portion, with arms loose on said sh'aftand extending toward the side of the body, acover section fixed to said arms and a supplemental section slidably guided by said arms for 'movement toward and from the side of the body in a plaine substantially parallel to that of the'first section, 4and means operable by the rotation of said shaft for sliding one section in said arms andswinging the other nsection with said arms about the axis of said shaft.

3. In 'combination with 'a hopper body, a rock shaft mounted over the body'and a cover extending from said rock shaft to the -side of the body, said cover comprising a section hingedly connected to the rock shaft and a. supplemental section slidableover the rst for extension'therefrom to `the side'of the body, a lever arm'fixed to the rock shaft'and extendingover the hinged section with a link connecting the outer en'l'of said arm Vwith the slidable section, whereby trotation of the shaft first draws said slidable section over the other toward Vthe rock `shaft and then swings both sectionstogether upwardly about the shaft as an axis. y

fl. In the combination deiinedfin claim 3, operatingv gearing for said rock shaft which includes drive connections adapted to turn the shaft positively lin either direction for openingor closing the cover at will.

5. In combination witha hopper body, a cover comprising a section hingedly mounted for opening upwardly, a section slidable over the first ina plane parallel thereto, `means supporting the hinged mounting independently of the body, said hinged mounting and support including a rock shaft lextending above the body, means on the hinged cover section loosely engaging said rock shaft vwith journaling means for the sha-ft mounted on said supporting means, andlinkage between the shaft and the slidable section whereby the latter is drawn toward the shaft axis in the initial portion of the opening movement of the cover when the shaft is rotated, together with operating meansfor said shaft carried byrsaid supporting meansA below the level of the shaft.

6. In combination with a 'hopper'.body, upright supports adjacenteachend ofthe body, a pair of rock shaftsextendinglongitudinally over the middle portion of ther body, a fixed cover section carried by-the uprights of the body and exand bridging the space between the rock shafts, together with covers hingedly attached to said rock shafts and sloping downwardly toward opposite sides of the body respectively, each cover comprising a slidably extensible section dimensioned to reach the side of the body when extended, an operating arm on each rock shaft linked to one of said extensions, and means for rotating said shafts independently of each other.

7. In combination with a hopper body, up-

rights at opposite ends of the body respectiveer connecting ly, a longitudinal frame memb said uprights above the body, journal brackets associated with the uprights and a journal bracket carried by said longitudinal member intermediate its ends with four rock shafts aligned in pairs and extending along parallel axes, and journaled in said brackets, covers for the body hinged to said rock shafts respectively, each cover comprising a slidably extensible portion adapted when extended to reach one side of the body, said covers sloping downwardly from the rock shafts in opposite directions at opposite sides of the longitudinal member, a connection from each of the extensible cover portions to its rock shaft, and separate operating means for each of the rock shafts supported on the uprights.

8. In the combination dened in claim 7, said covers and the supporting means there- Aor being carried independently of the body.

9. In the combination defined in claim 7, each of said separate operating means including manual actuating means supported by the upright at a lower 10. f In the construction defined in claim 7, said pairs of rock shafts being transversely spaced; together with a plate registering with the opening between said shafts and secured to said journal brackets.

CHARLES G. CLEMENT.

portion thereof. 

